North Kona water restriction in effect, two wells to be back online soon

Posted on September 29, 2017.

North Kona water restriction area.

MEDIA RELEASE

The Emergency Water Restriction for North Kona remains in effect. Water levels in the tanks that service the general area between the Mākālei Fire station to just south of the Palani Road and Māmalahoa highway junction have been slowly recovering after several days of decline. Please be reminded that ALL residents and customers in North Kona must continue to restrict water use to health and safety needs (drinking, cooking, and hygiene purposes).

The Department appreciates the community’s continued efforts to restrict water use during this time. As such, limited hand watering of precious plants, on occasion, is still acceptable using the following best practices:

Water at night to reduce evaporation.

Use of County’s free mulch to preserve moisture around plants.

Use of rainwater from downspouts for plants.

Do not over-water plants.

Use of sprinklers (manual or automatic) for lawns and grass areas is still prohibited.

This restriction also prohibits the draining and refilling of swimming pools, hot tubs, water fountains, etc. Customers should take appropriate measures to reduce the loss of existing water in swimming pools and hot tubs, such as checking the pool for leaks and consulting a pool supplier for appropriate pool covers. In addition, customer should ensure proper operation and maintenance of pool pump equipment.

Installation Update: The contractor has two (2) crews working on both Hualālai and Palani repairs concurrently and will be working throughout the weekend. At this time, the installation (including testing) of Hualālai Deepwell is anticipated to be complete by Monday evening, with installation (including testing) of Palani Deepwell anticipated to be complete by Wednesday afternoon.

For your use, potable water can be obtained from a portable water tanker located on Hina Lani Street below Anini Street as well as water spigots along Ane Keohokalole Highway, between Kealakehe High School and Palani Road. Please bring your own drinking water containers to fill. Without everyone’s continued cooperation, there will be areas that will experience periodic loss of water service or lower water pressures. We also recommend that residents store a sufficient amount of water for basic household needs, such as drinking, cooking, and hygiene purposes, in the event of service disruptions.

For more information visit our website at www.hawaiidws.org
To report any observed wasteful use of water, call 961-8060 during normal business hours or email dws@hawaiidws.org. For after hour emergencies call us at 961-8790.